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Case Study | June 2026
In August 2024, Ola Electric became the first Indian electric vehicle company to list on the stock exchanges. The IPO raised Rs 6,146 crore at Rs 76 per share. On listing day, the stock touched Rs 91.18 and the company was valued at roughly Rs 40,000 crore. Within 18 months, the stock was trading below Rs 40. Revenue fell by half. Annual deliveries dropped 53 percent. Market share went from over 50 percent to less than 10 percent in a matter of quarters. This is the story of how India’s most ambitious electric vehicle startup got to the top, and what happened next.
Rs 6,146 Cr
IPO size raised in August 2024. The largest EV IPO in Indian history at the time of listing.
Rs 2,253 Cr
FY26 revenue from operations. Down 50.1% from Rs 4,514 crore in FY25 and 55% from peak FY24.
1,73,794
Units delivered in FY26. Down from 3,59,221 in FY25. Fourth place in CY2025 with 1.98 lakh units.
Rs 1,833 Cr
FY26 net loss. A 19.5% improvement over the Rs 2,276 crore loss in FY25, despite the revenue collapse.
Table of Contents
- Part I: Origins and the Road to Launch From Nagpur EV pilots in 2017 to the Etergo acquisition, Futurefactory, and first scooter deliveries in 2021
- Part II: The Rise How Ola captured 50% market share, scaled to 3.29 lakh units in FY24, and filed for its landmark IPO
- Part III: The IPO IPO structure, use of proceeds, listing performance, and what the Rs 76 share price implied about valuation
- Part IV: The Financials A full quarterly and annual breakdown of revenue, losses, margins, and deliveries from FY22 to FY26
- Part V: The Fall Service complaints, market share erosion, competition from TVS and Bajaj, and the collapse in Q4 FY26
- Part VI: The Gigafactory Bet The 4680 Bharat Cell, the 5 GWh Phase I plant in Krishnagiri, and what vertical integration means for the margin story
- Part VII: FY26 Reset and the Path Forward Project Lakshya, service turnaround, QIP fundraising, and whether the recovery in April 2026 is sustainable
- Frequently Asked Questions
Part IOrigins and the Road to Launch
Incorporated in 2017, Built on a Ride-Hailing Platform
Ola Electric Mobility Private Limited was incorporated on 3 February 2017 in Bengaluru by Bhavish Aggarwal. Aggarwal, an IIT Bombay alumnus who had worked briefly at Microsoft Research, had already founded Ola Cabs (officially ANI Technologies) in 2010 alongside Ankit Bhati. By 2017, Ola Cabs had become one of India’s largest ride-hailing platforms, competing directly with Uber across hundreds of Indian cities.
Ola Electric began not as a scooter company but as an EV infrastructure pilot. The company launched India’s first multimodal electric vehicle project in Nagpur on 26 May 2017. The Nagpur pilot deployed electric three-wheelers and cars for a ride-sharing service and tested battery-swapping stations to understand charging behaviour, user adoption, and operational economics at scale. The learnings from Nagpur shaped the company’s later emphasis on charging infrastructure alongside vehicle sales.
In 2019, SoftBank’s Vision Fund led a Series A investment of $250 million in Ola Electric, a round that also brought in Tiger Global and Matrix Partners. The funding gave the company unicorn status before a single scooter had ever been sold commercially. Ola Electric was valued at approximately $5 billion by its last private funding round.
The Etergo acquisition: In May 2020, Ola Electric acquired Etergo BV, an Amsterdam-based electric scooter startup that had developed the AppScooter platform. The AppScooter’s modular battery design and connected features directly accelerated Ola Electric’s own product development. The Ola S1 platform owes its fundamental architecture to this acquisition.
Building the Futurefactory
To manufacture at the scale Aggarwal envisioned, Ola Electric announced construction of the Ola Futurefactory in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, in 2021. The facility was built in phases and is positioned as one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturing plants in the world. A distinctive feature is that the production workforce is entirely women. Aggarwal described it as the world’s only all-women automotive factory.
The first Ola S1 Pro scooter was delivered to customers in December 2021. The launch had been preceded by a pre-booking event in which the company reportedly sold scooters worth over Rs 1,100 crore in just two days. Consumer interest was extraordinary, driven by a combination of FAME II subsidies, rising petrol prices, and Aggarwal’s aggressive marketing framing the S1 Pro as India’s technological declaration of independence from fossil fuels.
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2017February 2017Ola Electric Incorporated
Bhavish Aggarwal registers Ola Electric Mobility as a subsidiary of ANI Technologies (Ola Cabs) in Bengaluru. Initial focus is EV charging infrastructure and pilots, not manufacturing.
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2019July 2019$250 Million Series A from SoftBank
SoftBank Vision Fund leads a $250 million Series A round alongside Tiger Global and Matrix Partners. Ola Electric reaches unicorn valuation before its first product ships.
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2020May 2020Etergo BV Acquired
Amsterdam-based Etergo BV is acquired for its AppScooter platform and battery IP. This acquisition shapes the Ola S1 architecture and accelerates the path to product launch.
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2021December 2021First S1 Pro Deliveries
The Ola S1 Pro is delivered to customers for the first time. Pre-booking had generated Rs 1,100 crore in orders in two days. The product immediately becomes India’s highest-revenue EV scooter.
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2023October 2023Rs 3,200 Crore Raised for Gigafactory
Ola Electric closes a Rs 3,200 crore equity and debt round led by Temasek, with project debt from SBI, to fund Phase I of its battery cell gigafactory near the Futurefactory in Krishnagiri.
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2024August 2024India’s First EV Company to List
Ola Electric lists on BSE and NSE at Rs 76 per share, raising Rs 6,146 crore. Stock surges 20% on listing day. The company is valued at approximately Rs 40,000 crore.
Part IIThe Rise
From Launch to Market Leadership in Two Years
Ola Electric’s ascent in the electric two-wheeler segment was rapid. The company launched with a single hero product, the S1 Pro, and expanded quickly to the S1, S1 Air, S1 X, and S1 X+. By FY23, the first full fiscal year of commercial operations, the company had sold over 1.56 lakh units and generated revenue of Rs 2,631 crore. This made Ola Electric the largest electric two-wheeler company in India by a wide margin.
FY24 was the peak year. Ola Electric sold 3.29 lakh units, nearly doubling the prior year. Revenue jumped 90 percent to Rs 5,010 crore. The company held over 40 percent market share in the electric two-wheeler segment at various points during FY24, and touched 50 percent at its Q1 FY25 peak.
The product portfolio expanded in August 2023 with the announcement of electric motorcycles, including the Roadster, Roadster X, Roadster Pro, and the Diamondhead concept. This was positioned as a move into a larger total addressable market, since the motorcycle segment in India is significantly bigger than the scooter segment by volume.
Vertical Integration as a Competitive Thesis
Ola Electric’s strategic differentiation rested on vertical integration. Most Indian EV companies sourced battery cells from overseas, predominantly from South Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan. Ola Electric’s plan was to manufacture its own lithium-ion cells at its Krishnagiri gigafactory, reducing import dependence and improving margins over time. The company was selected as the only Indian EV company under the government’s Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, receiving a 20 GWh capacity allocation.
By early 2024, Ola had begun trial production of its NMC 2170 cell and later developed the larger 4680 form-factor Bharat Cell. The 4680 cell received Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification in May 2024. This was widely seen as a technical milestone. No other Indian EV manufacturer had reached this stage of indigenised cell production.
Why vertical integration mattered for the margin story: At peak volumes in FY24, Ola’s automotive gross margin was approximately 6 to 8 percent. The company’s business case for profitability depended on cell manufacturing reducing material costs, which typically represent 60 to 70 percent of an EV’s bill of materials. Own-manufactured cells, if deployed at scale, were expected to reduce material costs by 15 to 20 percent per vehicle, potentially pushing automotive EBITDA margins to 30 to 40 percent. The gigafactory was not an optional moonshot. It was central to the unit economics.
Part IIIThe IPO
Structure and Proceeds
Ola Electric’s IPO opened for public subscription from 2 to 6 August 2024. The price band was set at Rs 72 to Rs 76 per share, with a lot size of 195 shares. The issue was subscribed 4.27 times overall. The qualified institutional buyer category was subscribed 5.31 times, the retail investor category 3.92 times, and the non-institutional investor category 2.40 times.
| IPO Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Issue open / close date | 2 August 2024 to 6 August 2024 |
| Listing date | 9 August 2024 (BSE and NSE) |
| Price band | Rs 72 to Rs 76 per share |
| Issue size (total) | Rs 6,145.56 crore |
| Fresh issue component | Rs 5,500 crore (72.36 crore new shares) |
| Offer for sale component | Rs 645.56 crore (8.49 crore shares) |
| Anchor investor raise (1 August 2024) | Rs 2,763.03 crore from 84 anchor investors |
| Listing price on BSE | Rs 75.99 (marginal discount to issue price) |
| 52-week high post-listing | Rs 157.53 on 20 August 2024 |
| Record low post-listing | Rs 64.68 on 28 January 2025 |
| Stock price as of May 2026 | Approximately Rs 36 to Rs 37 |
Use of IPO Proceeds
The fresh issue component of Rs 5,500 crore was earmarked for specific capital expenditure and strategic purposes as disclosed in the Red Herring Prospectus.
| Purpose | Allocated Amount |
|---|---|
| Research and development | Rs 1,600 crore |
| Capital expenditure for manufacturing subsidiary | Rs 1,227.64 crore |
| Debt repayment or prepayment | Rs 800 crore |
| Organic growth initiatives | Rs 350 crore |
| General corporate purposes | Remainder |
At the IPO price of Rs 76, the post-issue market capitalisation was approximately Rs 32,000 crore. Promoter Bhavish Aggarwal held a 36.78 percent post-IPO stake. SoftBank held approximately 17.83 percent, and Tiger Global approximately 4.90 percent. By Q4 FY26, promoter holding had reduced to 34.59 percent, primarily due to dilution from equity issuances rather than direct promoter selling.
Part IVThe Financials
Annual Financial Summary: FY22 to FY26
| Year | Revenue from Ops (Rs Cr) | Net Loss (Rs Cr) | Units Delivered | Key Development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY22 | Approx. 400 Cr | 784 Cr (pretax) | ~22,000 (partial year) | First deliveries in Dec 2021; factory ramp-up phase |
| FY23 | 2,631 Cr | 1,472 Cr | 1,56,000 | First full year of operations; India EV market leader established |
| FY24 | 5,010 Cr | 1,584 Cr | 3,29,549 | Peak revenue year; 90% revenue growth; IPO filing; cell pilot production begins |
| FY25 | 4,514 Cr | 2,276 Cr | 3,59,221 | IPO completed; post-IPO challenges begin; service complaints surge; market share loss starts |
| FY26 | 2,253 Cr | 1,833 Cr | 1,73,794 | Revenue halved; deliveries fall 53%; FY26 called “year of reset”; gross margin improves to 30.6% |
Quarterly Financial Breakdown: FY25 and FY26
| Quarter | Revenue (Rs Cr) | Net Loss (Rs Cr) | Units Delivered | Notable Data Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 FY25 (Apr-Jun 2024) | 1,644 | 347 | 1,25,198 | Highest-ever quarterly deliveries at IPO time; 49% market share |
| Q2 FY25 (Jul-Sep 2024) | 1,214 | 495 | ~99,000 | Post-IPO quarter; market share starts declining; auto EBITDA margin -7.63% |
| Q3 FY25 (Oct-Dec 2024) | 1,045 | 564 | 84,029 | Revenue falls 19.4% YoY; loss widens to Rs 564 Cr; market share at 25.5% |
| Q4 FY25 (Jan-Mar 2025) | 611 | 870 | 51,375 | Revenue collapses 59% YoY; EBITDA margin -101.4%; stock near record low |
| Q1 FY26 (Apr-Jun 2025) | 828 | 428 | 68,192 | Revenue falls 50% YoY; Project Lakshya begins cost cuts; June first EBITDA-positive month |
| Q2 FY26 (Jul-Sep 2025) | 690 | 418 | 52,666 | First quarter with positive auto segment EBITDA at 0.3%; auto gross margin expands 510 bps to 30.7%; opex cutting continues |
| Q3 FY26 (Oct-Dec 2025) | 470 | 487 | 32,680 | Continued volume decline; service backlog peaks at 14 days; rare earth magnet shortage affects industry |
| Q4 FY26 (Jan-Mar 2026) | 265 | 500 | 20,256 | Lowest quarterly revenue in over two years; gross margin improves to 38.5%; service TAT falls 88% |
Revenue Trend (Visual)
Annual Revenue from Operations (Rs Crore)
Annual Net Loss (Rs Crore)
Reading the numbers: FY26 is the first year in which Ola Electric’s net loss declined year-on-year since operations began. The loss narrowed 19.5 percent to Rs 1,833 crore from Rs 2,276 crore in FY25. This was not because of a revenue recovery. Total expenses fell sharply from Rs 6,253 crore in FY25 to Rs 3,245 crore in FY26, driven by lower material consumption, reduced opex under Project Lakshya, and fewer deliveries. The cost structure improved materially. The revenue problem remained entirely unresolved at the close of FY26.
Part VThe Fall
The Service Crisis
The most visible trigger for Ola Electric’s post-IPO decline was a well-documented deterioration in after-sales service quality. As the installed base of scooters grew past one million units, service infrastructure did not scale at the same rate. Customer complaints about service delays, long turnaround times, parts unavailability, and unresolved defects spread widely through social media and consumer forums.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a show-cause notice to Ola Electric in 2024 regarding the volume of complaints on the National Consumer Helpline. The service backlog peaked at 14 days’ average turnaround time by October 2025. This directly dented brand trust and suppressed repeat purchases and referrals in a segment where word-of-mouth is a primary purchase driver.
By Q4 FY26, average service turnaround time had been reduced to approximately one day, down 88 percent from October 2025. Same-day closure of service requests improved to nearly 87 percent. Parts availability improved significantly, with pendency falling 69 percent between October 2025 and April 2026. The company described Q4 FY26 as the quarter in which service constraints materially stabilised.
Market Share Collapse: From 50 Percent to Fourth Place
Ola Electric’s market share peaked at approximately 49 percent of India’s electric two-wheeler market in Q1 FY25 (April to June 2024), when it delivered 1.25 lakh units in a single quarter. That was the last quarter of dominance. By November 2025, market share had fallen to 7.19 percent, per VAHAN registration data. For the full calendar year 2025, Ola Electric delivered approximately 1.98 lakh units, placing it fourth in the CY2025 annual rankings.
CY2025 E2W Market Share (Calendar Year)
CY2025 Annual Rankings (Source: VAHAN Registration Data)
TVS
23.4%
Bajaj
21.1%
Ather
15.7%
Ola
15.5%
Hero
8.5%
Total industry CY2025: approx. 12.75 lakh units (up 11% YoY from 11.5 lakh in CY2024)
The Competition That Changed Everything
The electric two-wheeler market Ola Electric dominated in FY23 and FY24 was materially different from the one it faced in FY26. In FY23, most legacy manufacturers were still in pilot mode. TVS had the iQube, but production was limited. Bajaj had relaunched the Chetak, but distribution was sparse. Ather Energy was strong in urban premium segments but had limited reach.
By 2025, the picture had changed completely. TVS Motor Company scaled the iQube aggressively, building on its pan-India dealer network of over 4,000 touchpoints. Bajaj Auto’s Chetak expanded to 390 exclusive stores and 4,000 points of sale in 800 cities. Hero MotoCorp’s VIDA brand showed breakthrough momentum from mid-2025, leveraging Hero’s deep penetration in semi-urban and rural markets. Ather Energy’s Rizta scooter, aimed at families rather than technology enthusiasts, broadened Ather’s addressable market significantly.
Legacy manufacturers had a structural advantage Ola Electric lacked: service networks that had existed for decades. A TVS or Bajaj customer in a tier-3 city could walk into a service centre they already knew and trusted. Ola Electric’s service depended on experience centres that were concentrated in tier-1 cities, and on a relatively young network that could not scale as fast as the installed base grew.
The compounding effect: Service problems reduced trust, which reduced sales, which reduced volumes, which increased per-unit fixed costs, which worsened margins, which reduced the ability to invest in service. Ola Electric entered this negative loop in FY25. By Q4 FY26, deliveries were 20,256 units in a quarter where Ola had once done 1,15,386. The loop was only broken when Project Lakshya’s cost-cutting and a deliberate service prioritisation effort showed measurable results.
Part VIThe Gigafactory Bet
Phase I: 5 GWh, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu
The Ola Gigafactory is located on a 115-acre site in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, adjacent to the Futurefactory. Phase I has a target capacity of 5.9 GWh. As of early 2026, installed and commissioned capacity stood at approximately 2.5 GWh, with the expansion to full Phase I capacity on track. The facility uses clean-room manufacturing processes comparable in precision to semiconductor fabrication, given that cells cannot be exposed to moisture, contamination, or particulates during production.
The core product is the 4680 form-factor Bharat Cell, a high-energy cylindrical lithium-ion cell developed in-house. The 4680 designation refers to the cell dimensions: 46mm diameter and 80mm height. This is a larger-format cell than the 2170 cells Ola had developed earlier, and it offers higher energy density per unit, which is important for achieving longer range without proportionally increasing battery pack weight or cost.
The 4680 Bharat Cell received BIS certification under AIS-156 Amendment 4 standards for its 5.2 kWh battery pack configuration. By November 2025, Ola Electric had begun mass deliveries of its 4680 Bharat Cell-powered vehicles, with the S1 Pro+ as the first model, making it the first Indian EV company to own both cell and battery pack manufacturing in-house end to end.
The ACC PLI Scheme and Long-Term Scale
Under the central government’s Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) PLI scheme, Ola Electric was allocated a maximum 20 GWh capacity. The Phase I gigafactory at 5 GWh represents the first tranche of this allocation. Phase I capacity is expected to be fully utilised as volume recovers and the cell supply is progressively integrated into Ola’s own vehicles. The company also entered the battery energy storage system (BESS) market with its Ola Shakti residential product line, built on 4680 Bharat Cells, targeting multi-gigawatt-hour residential demand.
Gigafactory: Key Facts
LocationKrishnagiri, Tamil Nadu
Site area115 acres
Phase I target capacity5.9 GWh
Installed capacity (early 2026)2.5 GWh
Full scale targetUp to 100 GWh
ACC PLI allocation20 GWh
Cell format4680 Bharat Cell (cylindrical)
BIS certificationAIS-156 Amendment 4 (May 2024)
Cell Integration Milestones
Trial production startMarch 2024
BIS certificationMay 2024
First mass deliveriesNovember 2025 (4680 Bharat Cell vehicles)
BESS product launchOla Shakti (2025)
Hyperservice expansionOpen platform for independent garages
FY26 1.4 GWh targetFull utilisation targeted by end FY26
Part VIIFY26 Reset and the Path Forward
Project Lakshya: Cutting the Cost Structure
In mid-FY26, Ola Electric launched a structured cost reduction initiative called Project Lakshya. The primary target was the automotive segment’s monthly operational expenditure. This had reached Rs 178 crore per month at the high point. Project Lakshya targeted a reduction to Rs 110 crore per month for the auto segment. By Q1 FY26, monthly auto opex had been cut to Rs 105 crore, and consolidated monthly opex stood at Rs 150 crore. The target for the end of FY26 was Rs 130 crore per month consolidated.
The effects were visible in the annual numbers. Total expenses fell from Rs 6,253 crore in FY25 to Rs 3,245 crore in FY26, a reduction of 48 percent. Cost of materials consumed fell from Rs 3,600 crore to Rs 1,302 crore, reflecting both lower volumes and deliberate supply chain optimisation. Employee benefit expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 294 crore.
The Margin Recovery Story
Gross margin is the metric that matters most for Ola Electric’s long-term viability. The automotive gross margin tells you whether each vehicle sold contributes positively before fixed overheads. At its worst, Ola’s automotive EBITDA margin was deeply negative. The recovery has been meaningful.
| Period | Auto Gross Margin | Consolidated EBITDA Margin | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 FY25 (Dec 2024) | 20.8% | Negative | Revenue falling; competition intensifying |
| Q4 FY25 (Mar 2025) | Approx 15% | -101.4% | Worst quarter; loss Rs 870 Cr on Rs 611 Cr revenue |
| Q1 FY26 (Jun 2025) | Improving | -28.6% | June: first EBITDA-positive month for auto business |
| Q2 FY26 (Sep 2025) | Auto EBITDA +0.3% | Positive auto EBITDA | First quarter with positive auto segment EBITDA |
| Q4 FY26 (Mar 2026) | 38.5% | Still negative (consolidated) | Gross margin near FY27 target; volume too low to cover fixed costs |
| FY26 full year | 30.6% | Negative | Structural improvement; revenue recovery needed for overall profitability |
Ola Electric had reaffirmed its FY26 automotive gross margin target of 40 percent earlier in the year but revised its revenue forecast downward to Rs 3,000 to 3,200 crore from the earlier Rs 4,200 to 4,700 crore. Actual FY26 revenue came in at Rs 2,253 crore, well short of even the revised guidance. The 38.5 percent gross margin in Q4 FY26, however, was close to the structural target, which means the cost and manufacturing efficiency work is delivering.
April 2026 Recovery Signal
The most encouraging data point in Ola Electric’s FY26 results was a forward-looking one. April 2026 registrations rose to 12,166 units, up 20 percent month-on-month, even as the broader electric two-wheeler industry declined by more than 22 percent in the same month. This outperformance came directly from the service stabilisation effort. The recovery was broad-based geographically, with strong growth in the northern and eastern regions led by Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. These are markets where Ola’s previous service gaps had been most acute.
QIP Fundraising
Alongside the Q4 FY26 results announcement on 20 May 2026, Ola Electric confirmed that it is pursuing equity fundraising through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP). Shareholder approvals had been obtained, advisors appointed, and investor engagement substantially completed at the time of the announcement. The proceeds from the QIP are intended to support liquidity, capital expenditure, and working capital requirements as the company attempts to rebuild volumes through FY27.
The recovery hypothesis for FY27: Ola Electric’s path to profitability depends on three things happening simultaneously. First, volume recovery to a level where the improved gross margin structure generates enough contribution to cover the reduced fixed cost base. Second, continued integration of its own Bharat Cells, which further reduces material costs. Third, sustained service improvements that rebuild brand trust in markets where legacy EV players have already gained ground. All three are plausible. None are guaranteed.
India’s Most Ambitious EV Bet: Where It Stands Today
Ola Electric is not a failed company. It is a company that built something genuinely hard: a large-scale EV manufacturing facility, an in-house cell gigafactory, and a consumer brand that commanded 50 percent of its market. Very few Indian startups have achieved any one of those three things. Ola Electric built all three in under a decade.
But the financials from FY25 and FY26 are a serious indictment of the sequencing and execution. A company cannot lose 50 percent of its market share in 18 months without making fundamental errors in service infrastructure, customer experience, and competitive positioning. The decision to expand product lines aggressively while the existing installed base was underserved was a miscalculation. The failure to anticipate the speed at which TVS and Bajaj would scale their EV operations was a strategic blind spot.
The situation at the end of FY26 is genuinely ambiguous. The cost structure is materially better. Gross margins are approaching the 40 percent target. The gigafactory has begun delivering its first commercially integrated cells. Service turnaround has improved dramatically. And April 2026 registration data showed a meaningful demand recovery even in a declining market. These are real improvements, not cosmetic ones.
What remains uncertain is whether Ola Electric can rebuild the volume base fast enough to make the unit economics work at scale before the QIP capital runs thin and competition from TVS, Bajaj, Ather, and Hero further consolidates their positions. FY27 is the year that answer begins to take shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ola Electric Mobility listed on the BSE and NSE on 9 August 2024. The IPO opened for public subscription from 2 to 6 August 2024 with a price band of Rs 72 to Rs 76 per share. The issue price was set at Rs 76 per share. Total funds raised were Rs 6,145.56 crore, making it the largest EV IPO in Indian history at the time. The fresh issue component was Rs 5,500 crore and the offer for sale component was Rs 645.56 crore. The stock listed at Rs 75.99, a marginal discount to the issue price, and then surged to a high of Rs 91.18 in intraday trade on listing day. Its 52-week high after listing was Rs 157.53, reached on 20 August 2024.
For the full financial year FY26 (April 2025 to March 2026), Ola Electric reported consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 2,253 crore. This was a 50.1 percent decline from Rs 4,514 crore in FY25. Annual net loss narrowed to Rs 1,833 crore from Rs 2,276 crore in FY25, a 19.5 percent improvement. Total expenses declined sharply from Rs 6,253 crore to Rs 3,245 crore. The company delivered 1,73,794 units across FY26, down from 3,59,221 in FY25. Consolidated gross margin for FY26 stood at 30.6 percent, improving from prior years.
Multiple factors contributed. The most visible was a deterioration in after-sales service quality as the installed base crossed one million vehicles while service infrastructure remained underdeveloped. Customer complaints about long turnaround times, parts unavailability, and poor response times spread widely and damaged brand trust. The Central Consumer Protection Authority issued a show-cause notice regarding consumer complaints in 2024. Simultaneously, legacy manufacturers TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto scaled their EV operations aggressively, leveraging existing pan-India dealer and service networks that Ola Electric had no equivalent of. Ather Energy’s Rizta expanded Ather’s customer base beyond urban early adopters. Hero MotoCorp’s VIDA brand gained momentum in semi-urban and rural areas. Ola Electric was defending its position against competitors with structural service advantages, while managing its own service crisis at the same time.
The Ola Gigafactory is a 115-acre lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, adjacent to the Futurefactory. Phase I has a production capacity of 5 GWh. The core product is the 4680 Bharat Cell, a cylindrical lithium-ion cell developed in-house and certified under BIS AIS-156 Amendment 4 standards. The gigafactory matters for the financial story because EV battery cells represent 60 to 70 percent of a vehicle’s bill of materials. Sourcing cells from overseas creates import cost exposure and currency risk. By manufacturing cells domestically, Ola aims to reduce material costs per vehicle by 15 to 20 percent, which would push automotive gross margins from the current 30 to 38 percent range toward the 40 percent target. By early 2026, the S1 Pro+ was being delivered with Bharat Cells, making Ola the first Indian EV company to own both cell and battery pack manufacturing end to end. The gigafactory is therefore not a side project. It is the central variable in whether Ola Electric can achieve positive unit economics at scale.
As of Q4 FY26 (March 2026), the major shareholders are as follows. Founder Bhavish Aggarwal holds approximately 27.83 percent individually. ANI Technologies (Ola Consumer) and Indus Trust hold additional promoter stakes. Total promoter holding stood at 34.59 percent in Q4 FY26, down from 36.78 percent at the time of the IPO in August 2024. The reduction reflects dilution from equity issuances rather than direct promoter selling. SoftBank Vision Fund held approximately 17.83 percent at the time of IPO. Tiger Global held approximately 4.90 percent at IPO. Foreign institutional investors held 3.99 percent as of Q4 FY26. Mutual funds held 5.14 percent. Insurance companies held 0.01 percent. The combined institutional holding of 11.01 percent is modest relative to the company’s market capitalisation, reflecting limited conviction among professional investors at this stage of the turnaround.
Project Lakshya is Ola Electric’s internal cost reduction initiative, launched during FY26. Its primary target was the monthly operational expenditure of the automotive segment, which had reached Rs 178 crore per month at its peak. The initiative targeted a reduction to Rs 110 crore per month for the auto segment. By Q1 FY26, monthly auto opex had been reduced to Rs 105 crore, reaching the target ahead of schedule. Consolidated monthly opex was Rs 150 crore, with a further reduction to Rs 130 crore per month targeted for the end of FY26. On the cost side, the initiative has worked. Total expenses fell from Rs 6,253 crore in FY25 to Rs 3,245 crore in FY26. Gross margin improved to 38.5 percent in Q4 FY26 and 30.6 percent for the full year. Operating cash used in operating activities fell from Rs 2,391 crore in FY25 to Rs 775 crore in FY26. The challenge is that cost reduction alone does not produce a profitable company when revenue has halved. The next test of Project Lakshya is whether the improved cost structure holds as the company attempts to rebuild volumes through FY27.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Financial data is sourced from company regulatory filings, exchange disclosures, and VAHAN registration data. Figures may be subject to revision. Market share data is based on VAHAN portal registrations which may differ from actual sales or deliveries. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Readers should conduct their own research and consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before making any investment decisions. Fiscalzenith.com accepts no liability for decisions made in reliance on information in this article.
